RSVP - Say 'Ai' Do
by Chyme for the Rhyme
Summary: In order to prevent Ai from another making another suicidal plot, the first thing Yusaku did upon finding him after three months was make him a proposal. The human kind, one that didn't involve any sort of cyber-fusion. In other words, here's your stereotypical 'marry me' fic. Inspired by a tumblr post.


Inspired by a post on tumblr.

* * *

At first, there was no colour, no light. Just data scrolling endlessly, breaking apart and then recompiling, before some quirk of fate rather brashly happened to force the fragments of code back into the optimal conditions for sentience to form.

_Oh_, was the first thought that ran throughout the strange, muddled little mind. _Great._

Or rather, to be accurate it was not words that poked and prodded within this new soul. It was code, a bunch of zeros and ones that ran through the mind, far quicker than any words could course through a human one, all in the language that Ignis had once created for themselves; but the 'oh, great' sentiment that was produced was a human one all the same.

It was only when this mind began to register colour, after rather despondently running its own series of checks over the data it now comprised of, that it began to remember what words actually were. Human, Japanese ones, that was.

_Huh? _They thought, said, uttered and announced. _What? _Then after a moment, they thought, rather grimly, _well,_ _welcome back to the world, Ai 3.0. You can't even die properly. Congratulations._

And if Ai could have clapped for himself sarcastically, he would have.

Instead he grumbled. Sulked. Then wondered how best to kill himself again. From what he could tell, he had been reformed in an almost dead part of the network, his old anti-virus program managing to produce a small, isolated blue sphere in order to nestle the rest of him inside. His 'body', as it were, was squashed into the same boring format he had been in when on the run for five years. He would need some time, some rest to recompile more of himself; the data he could use to do that was still churning over. All it would take was a small push from him, but-

There was a twinge, a subtle pull at the Link Sense. Ai paused. His eye squinted. Then it widened in alarm.

The next second a horribly familiar arm crashed through the little, blue isolated field, and Ai screeched as black and green filled his vision, the human hand attached to it seizing him roughly as though he were a monster card Playmaker desperately needed to pluck out of the Data Storm.

'AHHHHHHH! Don't seize the wind, Playmaker! Abort, abort! Go back! Seize life instead! You pervert, MY BODY'S NOT READY!'

Ai was shaking, crying, spitting out nonsense, and Playmaker's fingers gentled abruptly, almost stroking the circular feel of him as they yanked him out into brighter light, and Ai's nerves, or what passed for them, instantly sparked to life as they connected and sensed the fresh paths of the network around them. It was a little like being dragged out of a cave and forced into open sunlight; or so he would have made the comparison, if he had been human.

'Ai.'

Playmaker's fingers curved under him, palms cupping him as though he were liquid that he was afraid to spill.

'Ai,' he spoke again, his voice firmer than most boys his age, though it seemed to shiver and almost break on the word. 'Ai,' he repeated, strangely insistent, as though he could do nothing else.

And Ai just sobbed harder, knowing that he should flee, should move, should run and escape, because it would be cruel to get Playmaker to kill him again, and it wouldn't work unless he could trap him into doing it like he had the first time round - but how the _hell_ would he manage that now that Yusaku knew the whole sordid truth that he had so earnestly confessed to him_ drat, drat, drat, DAMN!_

Playmaker's fingers tightened on him slowly as the sky of the network around them blazed blue, highlighting his partner's hair and allowing the familiar green in those eyes to shimmer. All while little shudders of motion travelled through the fingers that cradled Ai, as Playmaker hovered on his board, refusing to be jolted an inch away from him. And…and he was smiling. Looking so cool and heroic, in comparison to the shivering mess, he, Ai, was. How lame.

'Ai,' said Playmaker very, very softly, almost breathing. And the damn smile he was wearing gave an odd lilt to his words as he pushed them out like a prayer: 'Marry me.'

* * *

The world crashed to a halt. And for a half a second Yusaku watched, some small part of him amused, while the rest of him, trembled, lit up with exhilaration and an odd buoyant happiness that he had been so far from capable of for the last three months. Ai's eye twitched. It widened, tears fading as the eyeball swelled slightly, Ai quite literally becoming bug-eyed.

Yusaku waited.

'Eh?' he heard after a few seconds. Ai blinked rapidly and swivelled onto one side as though looking at Yusaku from a slightly different perspective would help render new data on him. And then abruptly seemed to give up and swivel back to his usual position. 'Um, hello, hello, Playmaker-sama? Were you infected by a virus in here?'

'You're the only program I've properly handled in here,' Yusaku remarked, without missing a beat. 'So the problem must be with you.'

Ai screeched again. And oh dear, Yusaku had only _half_-missed that.

'Hey, hey, I know I'm not up to a hundred percent functionality-'

Yusaku's lips thinned at that. He would have to ask Ai what he needed, what he could provide, the last thing he wanted was Ai so vulnerable that he, Playmaker had to act as his weapon again.

'-but I assure you, I could gobble up hundreds of viruses-'

Please don't, Yusaku thought.

'-AND crush them all with my superior programming! But hmm…' Ai fixed Yusaku with a squinted, suspicious stare. 'You shouldn't be here. _I_ shouldn't be here. Oh Playmaker-sama…what have you been doing? '

'Nothing,' said Yusaku. 'I just…couldn't believe you were gone. I kept sensing you, every now and again, some small fragment tugged at my Link Sense. But today it was more than that, I felt you, properly felt you, and I knew you were out here so I came to get you.' His fingers clutched at him tighter and Ai let out a small squeal.

'Be careful now, you brute! I'm delicate~.'

Yusaku ignored him. 'Alright,' he said brusquely. 'I've answered your question. Now you answer _mine._' He stared straight at Ai, his face set in stone, or at least it would be, if Ai hadn't known him well enough to see the slight hesitation in his eyes, that strange uncertainty that made him look a little vulnerable. 'Marry me.'

Ai's eye quivered.

'That's such a sweet thing to say, Playmaker! Even if you're saying it like a demand, rather than an actual question, you hooligan! But you already know, don't you, why-'

'Ai,' Yusaku said insistently, before Ai could attempt to re-hash the cursed subject of 'I-am-doomed-to-destroy-humanity' again. 'Tell me: did you run any simulations of what would happen if we were…together.'

Ai stared at him. '_Together_-together?' he squeaked, so high-pitched, that it sounded like the whine of an insect.

Well, Yusaku thought, as he looked down at that small lump of black and yellow. Maybe that wasn't so far off the mark.

'I did ask you to marry me just now,' he reminded Ai, feeling a brief spike of anxiety though he hid it well.

There was a pause. 'I'm not a legal entity,' Ai said after a moment, and Yusaku stiffened, paid attention, because Ai's voice had gone low and dark, almost matching the tone he had adopted in his human form. 'And I will never be recognised as one. Which you need to be to marry _anyone._ And the second I reveal myself, or start walking round in public the way a 'legal entity' would, some ex-employee of SOLtech sees me, and then the stories spread, the whole Lost incident gets dragged to light and people, governments start rallying for me to either be put down or put under control, or even for me to have my data dismantled and forcibly copied so they can analyse it. The story's always the same.'

'Plus,' he added, voice brightening. 'I'm a guy! Well, close enough to one, anyway. Unless the laws have drastically changed, same-sex marriage isn't allowed here in Japan.' He leered up Yusaku unhelpfully. 'Aw, were you thinking of emigrating somewhere that would? That's so sweet!'

Yusaku shrugged, realising that Ai wasn't about to answer his question. 'Sure,' he said, his voice cutting through Ai's bright remark and rendering him still. 'Japan allows it's citizens to marry a same-sex partner from another country. You could pass for someone like that. And we can go somewhere remote, where there aren't any people, live in a fairly isolated country hamlet; you could change your SOLtiS avatar, wear polo-necks all the time-'

Ai sputtered in outrage.

'-there are so many options. Which you never considered because you never bothered to ask for my input.' He fixed Ai with a stern eye. 'Not this time.' His grip tightened on Ai once more. 'Til death do us part. Isn't that the phrase you always started sobbing over on the television?'

Ai looked at him, his eyelid, or what resembled one, drooping as it gave him a tired look. 'There's a good reason for that,' he murmured.

The two of them were silent, both caught in their memories. After a moment, Ai wiggled round on Yusaku's palm.

'I'll make you cry, Playmaker,' he warned.

Yusaku's lips quirked. 'So you didn't run that particular simulation.'

'Of course, I did!' Ai snapped. 'As unlikely as the possibility was! After all, to humans I looked like some black 'gremlin-'

Yusaku raised a brow.

'I heard Kusanagi call me that once, don't ask. Anyway, you knew me and cared for me, but love me? Like…like I love you? It was…it seemed unlikely. I wasn't the right kind of beauty to make you fall me for me. And then in my SOLtiS form, I _was_ and you _could_, the probability was there! And yes, I ran it, but, it didn't change anything!'

Yusaku glanced at him, perturbed. It was like Ai had ran a weird dating simulator involving him. 'And how many simulations did you run, involving yourself being resurrected? How many where I asked you what I have just now?'

Ai turned away in distress.

'Ai,' said Yusaku firmly. 'How many simulations did you run, where you stayed as yourself, with no human-like body to walk around in? And what makes you think something like that would ever be enough to deter _me_?'

Ai swivelled back round and gave Yusaku a reproachful look.

'Oh, I know, I know, you don't care about hot bodies or 'girls' or whatever else most human males seem to do! But still, still! I just…why do you have to do this?' Ai asked, a near whine in his voice. 'I made peace with all this, you got to live, and I was satisfied with that, I truly was!'

Yusaku narrowed his eyes. 'Satisfied' isn't 'happy,' Ai,' he said firmly. 'I know you're data and those simulations aren't something you can ignore; but all those terrible things, they didn't happen right away, right? Give me a time-frame. I'll change you; make you happy enough that all those simulations will fall away and shatter from your mind.'

Ai let out a low moan. Then, his eye form shifted, shivered down into a pool of black liquid that twitched. And then, before Yusaku had time to worry, it sprang up again into a familiar small body, yellow eyes glowing and downcast. Almost tentatively, tiny fingers reached out to press against Yusaku's thumb.

'Damn you,' Ai said throatily. 'Damn you, Playmaker. Damn you.' He tugged at Yusaku's thumb almost as if in punishment, then glanced down at the fingers that still surrounded him like a makeshift cage. Before he froze. Then haunted, stared up at Yusaku's face accusingly.

'Where's my ring?'

Yusaku blinked slowly.

Ai held up a finger, indignant all of a sudden. 'My ring! You proposed, so where is it?'

Yusaku looked at him, perturbed.

'…I don't have one.'

'YOU DON'T HAVE ONE!' Ai stomped his foot, fists clenched by his side. 'YOU'RE CHEAP, PLAYMAKER! CHEAP!

'You know I don't have a lot of money-'

'You're a hacker!' Ai broke in, pointing a finger accusingly. 'You could have at least designed one out of data! I know you have the know-how! And it wouldn't have cost you any yen!'

Yusaku's mouth opened. Closed. He felt ridiculous, embarrassed, as though he were five years old. And the worse part was; Ai was right.

Ai crossed his arms. 'Typical. Playmaker, the mighty hero of Vrains, capable of proposing in such a cool way, without even bothering to get the most essential part right!'

'…I would think the question is the most important part.'

'That's because you don't have a romantic bone in your body!' Ai fell on his side dramatically, covering his eyes with mock shame. 'My fiancé is a cad, a charlatan, a cheap, cheap, nasty-'

Yusaku sighed, now thoroughly irritated. 'Get in the Duel-Disk.'

'YOU CAN'T TREAT ME THIS WAY, I'M YOUR FIANCE!'

* * *

Unfortunately, as Ai soon learnt, Yusaku could. Or course, he could. All he had done, was give Ai an unimpressed look and then practically snapped out, 'so that's a 'yes' then?' And then his mean, _mean_ partner had zoomed off, leaving Ai to clutch at his fingers desperately and wail, all too frantic to suddenly sink into the Duel-Disk that Yusaku had then carefully pressed him against a few seconds later.

Grr…those middle aged woman characters in soap operas were right! He should have made Yusaku sweat some more, should have made him work harder to get Ai to say 'yes!' And now he was stuck in a promise with Yusaku, while everyone else fantasied about the cool, smooth, polished Playmaker persona they had viewed, all while they had no idea about the truth of his character, not when they flocked over him in forums, and wrote steamy fanfiction about him-

'Are you saying you're not content with the real thing?' Yusaku murmured, diving round a few city-blocks, and Ai flinched at the slightly teasing tone in his voice. People often missed it, but it was there, the unfortunately rather mean streak of humour Yusaku possessed. It didn't help that Ai was so enthralled by the promise Yusaku had gifted him with that he couldn't seem to stop his voice from clamouring out of the Duel-Disk, even if was just to voice his grievances. Of which he had many. _Justifiably many._

They were now in the central hub of Vrains, near a major exit point and Ai grumbled some more as he ducked back out of sight, concealing himself with the inside of the Duel-Disk. He could see them already, people gawping, pointing, enthusiastically crying out for _Playmaker, Playmaker, Playmaker's back!_ One blond girl (who was actually a thirty-six year old man, from what Ai could read from the data stream that fed his avatar, hah!) blew a steamy kiss at them both.

Ai made the appropriate gagging noise such a crude display of wasted affection warranted and muttered: 'you sure you want to hook up with an AI, Playmaker? There are some legal entities here that I'm sure you'd have no problem sweeping off their feet.'

'Are you jealous?' Yusaku asked, not sounding pleased exactly, just…thoughtful.

Ai grumbled and settled down even further into the interior of the Duel-Disk. 'You're making it very hard to get psyched about marrying you! This isn't how it's meant to go!'

Yusaku honestly looked confused. 'This isn't a soap opera, Ai,' he said after a moment. 'I don't know what you expected-'

'A wedding!' snapped out Ai, angry enough to risk poking his head of the Duel-Disk, an action that had Yusaku frowning down at him severely for. 'You know, the big party people throw to show the world that they actually love each other! Ha! I bet you weren't even planning to do that either!'

Yusaku's eyes flickered over to where Brave Max was hopping up and down on his board in excitement, and he grimaced slightly.

'Let's go, ' he muttered. 'Before you end up in the public eye too much.'

That successfully curbed Ai's rant and he shuddered, a few simulations playing back in his mind; or at least the beginnings of them. Just another reminder of why this was a bad idea. But oh…_oh_…the thought, the _hope_ of a life with Yusaku that…_that!_

_…_Ai was an idiot. A selfish one. And that thought haunted him, as they tumbled off the network. And then suddenly Ai was blinking, staring into an unfamiliar room that actually allowed the sunlight in for once, the golden spread of it rolling over pale green walls and reaching up to produce dancing pinpricks of light across the cobwebs that hung from the ceiling in place of stalactites. These branched out, glistening as the crystalline strands suddenly created the illusion of silver cracks against the paint.

Ai blinked at them. Turned his head. Observed the lack of furniture and the dust that spilled over a few computing magazines. This was a new room, an untouched room, especially from any kind of Roboppi model.

'Huh,' he said, more to himself than anyone else. 'You've moved.'

'Yeah,' said Yusaku, as eloquent as always. He paid no attention to anything else, eyes locked onto Ai as his hands, suddenly a lot less steady that they had been in his Playmaker avatar, carted the Duel-Disk over to his desk. It landed there with a soft bump, placed down a lot more gingerly than Ai previously remembered Yusaku ever doing with him, and a strange, soft spill of happiness unfurled in his chest. He was being treated like something precious, as though he could slip and roll to the floor, crack as easily as a glass of water.

'Now,' he announced, raising a finger up, to see if the action would generate another smile from Yusaku today; and oh yes, it did, he was on _fire_. 'Since all the annoying busybodies are no longer here, we can get down to discussing the important things.'

Yusaku's smile wavered slightly, a wary look entering his eyes.

Ai's eyes immediately curved, the resulting dimples making him look smug and self-satisfied. 'Wedding planning!' he announced loudly, spreading out his arms wide; not a little like the pose he had engraved on his Ai's Hymn card all those months ago.

Yusaku looked at him. But surprisingly enough, did not immediately turn away, stride to the kitchen or do anything else that would cause Ai to rightfully shriek after him. Instead he pulled out a chair and sank down onto it, a slightly tired look appearing on his face.

'First off, food preparation! We can have a lavish spread in a hotel!' Ai tapped his chin. 'Hmm, or maybe we should make our own ceremony in a private sector on the network! That would make clothing us easy, we can wear whatever we want! You're not that religious are you? I mean you'd be great in a montsuki and haori, oh yes, black of course, but I can't see you being that comfortable with it…'

Ai sat back on the globe-like display of the Duel-Disk like a child, swinging his legs back forth over the edge.

'And I would look stunning in one too! But, eh, no one would ever marry us in a traditional Shinto ceremony and those Western-style bashes have their charms…besides! I would look handsome in a tuxedo!'

Yusaku stared at him, chin propped up in his hand as he rested his elbows in the back of his desk chair.

'And the cake!' Ai clasped his hands together, sparkles dancing in his eyes as he leapt up to his feet, prancing around with excitement. 'Yes! It has to be six tiers, at _least_, covered in sparkling silver and lot of edible glitter, and all those cute little ball bearings and ooooh, we need edible figures of ourselves at the top!'

'Ai,' said Yusaku quietly. There was not a hint of frustration on his face, yet his tone when he spoke, was quiet and measured. Almost careful. 'Who exactly is going to be coming to this…wedding?'

Ai frowned. ' Our wedding, Yusaku, our wedding! Don't talk like you're not involved!'

Yusaku sighed. 'You were the one who pointed out that we can't get officially married. We can get a partnership certificate – Den City falls within one of the providences that offers those. But there are chapels who offer the full service, and it is something that bears a little legal weight.'

'Yes, yes,' snapped out Ai, 'we'll get one of those consolation prizes; the point is; what _flavour_ should the cake be?'

Yusaku looked at him incredulously. And Ai snapped.

'Oi! You can't say something like 'marry me,' and then start backing out of the good bits! Where's all that oomph, all that 'we can emigrate together and get a certificate that means something!'

Yusaku sighed. 'Ai,' he said. 'Same-sex marriage exists as a feature in a lot of platforms across the Vrains network and all it connects to. So;' he said, holding up a finger. 'I'm going to marry you wherever and in whatever format the law, and _elsewhere_ allows it. Online, or at a city-hall. And then, when I'm old enough, and same-sex marriage is legalised properly; and I suspect it will happen eventually, we'll do that too.' He shrugged. 'There's no need for a big wedding.'

Ai was quiet. 'For a moment, I thought you were going to pull out your 'three reasons' habit.'

Yusaku stared back at him steadily. 'I only need one to marry you.'

Ai froze. Then his hand came up to clutch at his cheek and he tittered, gazing down to the side. 'Ahhhh…so embarrassing…when did my cute little Yusaku grow up to be such a charmer?' He gazed up feeling bashful suddenly. This…Yusaku proclaiming all these things to him…it was more than he had thought possible. 'I would kiss you, but I don't have a mouth.'

Yusaku raised a brow. 'I wouldn't expect something like that to stop you.'

Ai fidgeted. 'Well…yes…but right now I'm not in a body that's designed to appeal to humans…'

Yusaku gave him a look, the kind he gave when he though Ai was giving particularly inane advice and then got up, walked over to a nearby cupboard and yanked the door open, almost casually. Familiar curls spilled out round a long, lean, beautiful face (and Ai had made sure it was so, he had done research on what exactly, humans found appealing in a male form) and then Ai was confronted with what he strongly suspected to be the body he had left Yusaku with, when he orchestrated his death.

The effect was ruined somewhat by the spillage of towels that cushioned the head and draped partway over the neck, flattening some of those lovely curls Ai had poured hours into producing. Yusaku, of course, did not look apologetic in the slightest.

'I had to keep them somewhere,' he stated evenly at Ai's pointed glare.

Ai hummed and crossed his arms. 'I don't know how I feel about this Yusaku…keeping my corpse in here…it's the sort of thing a stalker would do…'

Yusaku shrugged and walked back to Ai, and then, before Ai could register the look on his face, that tired fondness surfacing in those green eyes, Yusaku bent at the waist, dipped his head, and brushed his lips against the curling curve of AI's small forehead. The patch of moisture it left behind was no way as pleasurable as those hot make-out scenes Ai had always craned his head at on the television made kissing out to be and yet…

Ai pressed his palms on either side of his head, shook, hard enough to appear as a momentary blur of black and purple motion and let out a slight scream, one of those typical 'kaaaaaa' ones that had always annoyed Aqua.

'Ah, a present, a present! Careful Yusaku, you have to be gentle with me! My heart can't take it!'

Yusaku looked amused. 'I doubt that. You've always been a glutton.' He kept his face bent towards Ai, seriousness stealing over his expression.

'Ai. I'm not asking you to change yourself. Not…physically. If you're more comfortable in this form, then stay in it. You're Ai. Don't think for a moment, I'm going to change my mind, because you want to look-' and here Yusaku's lip twitched slightly. '…like a gremlin.'

Ai puffed his chest out. 'A handsome one, thank you!' Then he cast a considering look at the SOLtiS body. '…I took that form because I initially wanted to live with you in the real world. It's not about comfort. It's about what's needed.'

Yusaku blinked as Ai disappeared, accessing the wireless transmission communication within the SOLtiS, not at all surprised that Yusaku seemed to have kept the systems moderately charged. And then he was there, towels falling over his head as he strode out and oh yes, it felt good to be taller than his Yusaku, to take him in his arms, and watch Yusaku's humoured face transform into a apprehensive one.

'How else am I going to lead you round the dance hall, if I'm stuck in the Duel-Disk?'

Yusaku blinked, letting Ai enfold his hands with his own, squeezing back slightly as their fingers entwined into those sleek, spidery knots Ai had enviously seen other lovers do.

'Dance-hall?' he questioned.

'It's a wedding! There has to be dancing at a wedding!'

To Ai's eyes, Yusaku didn't quite sigh. But his mouth thinned, considerably so, enough for Ai to believe that it was a damn close thing.

He chuckled. Pulled Yusaku closer, closer than he had ever dared before, and was gratified when moments later, Yusaku breathed out and pushed his forehead a little stiffly against the side of Ai's neck.

'See,' Ai cooed, hoping the harsh jut of his diamond LCD wasn't too irritating against Yusaku's skin; even from up here, he could see it produced a glimmering green light thorough the blue strands, wavering like the beam of an unsteady torch, caught behind the thick paint-strokes of darkness the night could create. 'Isn't this nice? Just the two of us, being together like this. It's not so bad right, dancing?'

To follow on from his words, his fingers _danced _down along the brash cut of Yusaku's school jacket, cutting into the rolling fall of his spine and smoothing out into the small hollow at the small of his back; they had to press in firmly to keep the jacket from bunching up, a perfect pocket for a hand, human or otherwise to crawl into.

…and yet it terrified Ai. Allowing himself to be this close, to touch Yusaku, was weakening his will to stay away.

What he _should_ do was run a simulation to prove to himself all over again what a terrible idea this was.

But then he felt Yusaku smile into his skin, felt the sensors there pick up ever contour, every shift of the lips and while he had no nerves, nothing to register the heat that he had heard humans gush about, on the TV and in books about how their temperature metaphorically soared when they were touched by a loved one, something in him jolted, fell free when Yusaku's lips touched him there. And then, seconds later, he practically melted when Yusaku drew his head aside, hair falling away from the green gem glowing on his neck, all so his partner could actually kiss it, right in the centre, that alien, inhuman gleam that marked him as a machine.

'Aaaahhh,' he murmured, flushing despite himself as Yusaku gazed at him, green gaze sharp and knowing, and perhaps even smug. '_Don't! _I'm weak there, Yusaku-chan. It's like you're kissing my pulse-point.'

Yusaku smiled at him secretively. As though he had discovered a great wonder.

Ai pouted at him in return.

'You're a real terror…but you shouldn't get too cocky. After all, I'm not ticklish, and you are! Hehheeehee.'

His fingers danced once again against the small of Yusaku's back in warning.

Yusaku scowled. 'Try it,' he warned. 'And you'll be in for a surprise. I've read the SOLtiS manual back to front; you may not be ticklish but I'm sure I could find something that works just as well.'

Ai smiled to himself. That's what he liked to hear!

* * *

It hit Yusaku, the next morning, waking up and blinking in his dusty room; the sight of his empty Duel-Disk and the remote twinge of pain he felt upon seeing it; and then the joy, the rush of it bursting through his chest as Ai swept in, his stupid cloak somehow avoiding the cunning corners of the desk and the snag of his chair as he deposited himself on the side of Yusaku's bed, a pale grey tray balanced perfectly in his hand.

'Morning!' he chirped, and Yusaku stared at him hungrily, drinking him in.

That's right, his brain told him. Ai's here. With me.

But he could leave again, his heart told him, and Yusaku took a breath, remembering:

_'You've made a promise, right?'_ he had asked Ai last night, too afraid to close his eyes and settle down into sleep; for every time he had done so for the last three months he had been tortured with dreams again, ones with familiar blots of darkness in them, whether it was of a cheeky Ignis, or a hair and cape he had barely had time to familiarise himself with. Waking up the next morning to realise those things, no, that person was something locked inside a dream, had been an all-new kind of agony.

_'You said, 'yes,_' he pressed out urgently, feeling scared when Ai had tilted his head at him, a softness appearing in his eyes and gentling his face. Because it was the same softness that had covered his face when Yusaku had told him to stop what he was doing, that fateful day back in the factory, and Ai had just looked at him, with that same expression, tired and strangely sweet, and answered, oh so gently_, 'I won't, Yusaku.'_

'_You said, 'yes'_ he repeated_. 'That's a promise, Ai. Don't break it.'_

_'It sounds like you want me to be your hostage again, instead of your fiancé,_' Ai had teased_. 'But I'm in no danger of getting pre-wedding jitters, don't worry. I'm no runaway bride.'_

Yusaku stared at him fiercely. _'That means nothing. You've run away plenty of times before.'_

Ai had looked at him_. 'Alright,'_ he said. _'How about I give you a special program. A tracking one. It'll register my presence and start beeping if the core data of me, with or without the SOLtiS moves more than…oh, say fifteen miles away from you. Or connects to a server outside the jurisdiction of Den City.'_

Yusaku's jaw had clenched. _'One mile.'_

_'Fourteen point five.'_

_'Three metres.'_

Ai had frowned. _'You really don't get how this negotiation thing works, do you Yusaku?'_

_'Your opinion is noted and disregarded,'_ Yusaku stated firmly. _'Because I'm not the one with a prior history of retreating deep into the network.'_

Ai rolled his eyes_. 'Only because you can't. I'm sure that are situations where you would've if you could've.'_

Yusaku remained silent.

Ai snorted_. 'Fine, fine.'_ He had muttered to himself, yanking together a few wires and a small circuit board he pulled free from some computer part Yusaku had worked on, off and on again at some point. His fingers had flickered, as though running across a keyboard, poking and prodding, a fey light in his eyes that was all artificial; Yusaku had watched it and felt wonder touch him.

And then, as though polishing off a great work of art, Ai had glanced down at his chest, pouted a little, then ripped of none of the beige tassels that stretched, like a washing line, from one side of his jacket to the other.

_'You see the sacrifices I do for you?'_ he had muttered, pout still in full force across his face. Rather ruthlessly, he had then looped the tassel round and into the tiny metallic gimmick those bit and bobs of wiring and metal had become. It was almost like badly-made pendant. Then, with a grand flourish, he had dangled it in front of Yusaku's hazy bedroom light to fully portray the necklace-like shape of it, before carefully dropping it over Yusaku's head, even daring to trail a few fingertips over the thin tips of bone that marked out Yusaku's clavicles.

He had tilted his head to the side, an odd possessive gleam in his eye. _'Mmmm…my, my, Yusaku-chan. Is this the first time anyone's ever given you something pretty?'_

Yusaku had worked hard not to clutch at the thing he felt resting on his skin, not to wrap fingers round the chain and not feel its reassuring weight. But it was hard, especially as he felt spots of heat dance in his cheeks.

…That still hadn't prevented him from ripping the thing off and analysing it with his own computer, much to Ai's hurt and badly-acted out expression. But no; it seemed Ai was telling the truth about its function. More or less.

He looked down at it now, that strange gimmick of silver and blue, tiny lights darting out to press red and blue gleams against his fingertips, to brush over the skin with a faint gaze of colour. Ai was eyeing it too, still keeping his little tray balanced in his hand.

'Kinda bulky. Hmm, should I beautify it for you? Make it spick and span so it can rest round your pretty neck more easily?' Then he grinned, low and lavicously. 'Oooh, does this mean I was the only one of us who bothered to get jewellery to mark our engagement?'

Yusaku cast an eye down at it, noting a few blue and red wires hastily wrapped round its middle like a makeshift Christmas bow.

'If you can't hock it at a jewellers Ai, it doesn't count as jewellery.'

Ai had tossed his head, chin poking out in a smug way. It almost made Yusaku want to dip his head and go in for the kill, to fasten his teeth there and nibble, just to get Ai to squeal and shriek. But then Ai would probably drop that bowl of miso soup there, so he reined it in.

…Honestly this urge to touch, to tease, it was all new to him. How strange, that it was an AI of all people that made him want to act more like a typical teenage boy. Rather brusquely, he pushed aside these invasive thoughts.

'What's that?' he pointedly asked, ignoring Ai's low and dirty mutter of, 'at least I'm not as cheap as you.'

Ai blinked. Then immediately brightened, whizzing the tray under Yusaku's nose, and causing the soup within the bowl to wobble, to slosh and almost overspill the pearly edges holding it.

'Breakfast!' he sang out. 'C'mon Yusaku, you're not fully grown yet! You have to keep your energy up if you want to walk me down the aisle.' Then he frowned. 'I'd rather you a proper meal, of course. But you only have instant powders and microwavable ones.'

Thank goodness for that, Yusaku thought. Ai, loose, in a fully-stocked kitchen? The thought was enough to cause nightmares.

Ai tapped the side of the bowl, producing a faint, musical clink. 'Besides,' he murmured, lowering his eyelashes to create a heavy, sultry look, his golden irises burning a hole in Yusaku's fragile mood. '…Don't you have school?'

Yusaku blinked. 'Not today,' he settled on. Only to regret it as Ai scowled at him, pointed a finger at him in what he thought was a threatening manner, but really just appeared comical and declared, 'Ha! 'Not today', huh? And not yesterday or any day for the last three months either! I checked the attendance records.'

Yusaku scowled and shoved the tray which Ai had been hovering before his nose, back onto his partner's lap. Whose fault was that, he wanted to waspishly ask.

'Since when do you care about my education?'

Ai sniffed. 'I don't want to marry someone dumb,' he stressed, but Yusaku narrowed his eyes at the tone; it was semi-serious, which meant Ai felt something, guilt or perhaps concern.

'…You've already signed me back up to enrol haven't you?' he guessed, suppressing a sigh when Ai beamed at him proudly and announced, 'ah, well done! Look like three months of skiving hasn't caused all your brain cells to roll out of your head and rot away!'

Yusaku sighed and pointedly began shifting under the bed-sheets, thankful when Ai scooted aside. He could skip. He would skip. He had no desire to console Shima or put up with his questions.

'You should text your friends as well,' Ai mentioned, observing him keenly. 'Maybe even take a little walk along to a certain sunny courtyard? It's a good spot to purchase a hot-dog at this time of day.'

Yusaku looked at him. And Ai glanced down, a strange smile on his face.

'I won't run away. Promise.'

Yusaku sighed. But he couldn't stay here forever. It didn't prevent the fear though, from lapping at his heels as he dragged himself out of his home, the image of Ai and his casual wave slipping into his memory, pressing itself there as he trod over copped stones, and wove his way next to the side of big roads. At least until a familiar dot appeared on the horizon. A familiar dot that blurred, that remoulded itself in his eyesight to reveal the text and logo of Kusanagi's infamous café nagi truck.

'I want whatever's cheapest,' he muttered, as he approached the window, internally wincing at how grouchy he sounded.

For a moment there was silence. Silence that was, apart from the sizzle of the grill, the smell of rushed cooking rolling under to tantalise Yusaku's nose.

Bravely, he raised his eyes.

Kusanagi stared at him, spatula in hand. A spatula that began to droop, as his expression morphed, from shock to anger, then with a quick struggle, to a welcoming beam.

'Yusaku,' he said finally. 'Welcome home.'

* * *

Walking out in broad daylight, wasn't that much different from travelling the network. There was traffic in both worlds for one thing. But brushing up against people, avoiding their bodies, was, Ai could admit, harder when he had to take the law of physics into account. Luckily he could map out the distances between them and him down to the exact millimetre, but still. He felt a little more at ease, with one of Yusaku's ties wrapped round his neck, the knot adjusted to hide the tell-tale glow of the green diamond that was nursed there.

'Now,' he said, clapping his hands together joyfully, and ignoring the strange look someone gave him. 'Where to begin, hmm? Yusaku's cheap and poor, so I can't exactly get a wedding planner involved…but who needs one! I'm smart enough to handle everything by myself!'

He ran round the store, tossing in baking powder and soda and everything he could pick up from the first few cake recopies his mind had scrolled through the net for. Even blocks of white roll-on icing; he did kind of want to make it from scratch himself, but the picture on the boxes looked so nice, all shiny with a white gleam that looked downright professional, the kind of professional that he…desperately wanted for himself. No, for them. Everything had to be perfect.

He agonised over the decorations, over the big stars and shiny ball bearings, over the small slices of candied fruits and little marzipan balls.

Then he shrugged. 'Better get everything,' he declared as he scattered them into the basket with a big spill of his hand, like he was throwing out confetti. 'We deserve the best.'

Or rather, Yusaku did. And because he was such a nice, giving husband-to-be, he even used one of Queen's old bank details to pay everything. Though he couldn't help but chuckle at how the numbers seemed to have dipped and swayed since Akira had taken over her old job.

Hmm. Looked like there was some karma over what had happened to Earth after all. He was glad of that, at least.

He exited the store, with a hum and bounce in his step. He couldn't wait for Yusaku to get home!

* * *

Yusaku frowned down at the faint beeping that rose up, from beneath the nestled tuck of his shirt. Clearly a design flaw. Maybe he should get Ai to make it vibrate instead.

Without another word, he rose up from his chair, seizing the empty food packaging in one hand. 'Sorry,' he told a startled Kusanagi. 'I've got to go; something came up.'

Kusanagi, looked at him, a frown rapidly rising up onto his face. 'Yusaku,' he said gently. 'What's going on? You've said you were travelling, but you haven't really told me anything. Not about where you live now, or what's made you come home. Just that 'things have changed' and 'it's time to get on with my life.'' He gave Yusaku a look. 'Do you really think I'd accept lines that sound like they've come out of a drama Jin likes to watch? And don't think I haven't noticed that, you getting me to open up about Jin, instead of talking about yourself.'

Yusaku hesitated. He trusted Kusanagi and he knew that Kusansgi had liked Ai; he certainly had been smart enough not to say anything bad about him. But…

Ai had just got back. From being dead. A state quite a few humans would probably like to keep him in. Especially if those simulations he had run held any truth to them.

'I can't tell you,' he muttered. 'No, I won't tell you.' He looked at Kusanagi , feeling an ache in his chest at the hurt on his old friend's expression. 'Kusanagi; I'm sorry. But there's something I need to protect. Something that's as important to me as Jin is to you.'

The frown was whipped off Kusanagi's face immediately. 'Ahhhhh,' he breathed out. 'Ai's back.'

Yusaku flinched. He felt rooted to the table by Kusanagi's gaze, which had turned even softer, a strange sort of relief gleaming in his eyes.

'Yusaku,' his friend said. 'C'mon. It's not _something_. It's _someone._ And I won't tell anyone.'

Yusaku breathed. 'Thank you,' he said after a few moments. 'I know that after what he did-'

Kusanagi shrugged. 'He gave everyone back,' he said quietly. 'And I'm good enough with data to know that he didn't have to, if he really didn't want to.' His gaze turned dark as he said, 'and I imagine there's more to it all than what he's said in public. More to it than what you've said.'

Yusaku swallowed. 'There are people out there. People we know. Who if they knew about Ai would…' his words broke off, mouth snapping shut.

Kusanagi looked grim. 'It's alright, Yusaku. I remember what happened to Earth. Just…call me. Not just me, the other people in your life, as well. Don't disappear off the face off the earth.'

There was a strange, tight feeling in Yusaku's chest. He nodded. Then took off.

* * *

Ai stared down at the kitchen in despair. There was egg yolk in his hair, from where he had cracked an egg a little too vigorously against the side of the bowl and he now had fingers that were whiter than a ghost's. Flour, sugar…it was everywhere.

Yusaku was going to kill him. Again. There would be no wedding, no vows, he would never get to see Yusaku reduced to joyful tears as he held him in his arms and whirled him round the dance-hall…

How was following a recipe so hard? He had measured everything out exactly, and okay, maybe he kept improvising, adding more chocolate chips because he didn't see enough of them surface through the yellow glop he had created, or tossed in more self-raising flour, because he was worried it wouldn't rise, and just remain flat in a pan…and he had cooked it the exact number of minutes, but…but! It had looked far too pale, and so he added just a _little_ extra time and now look at it!

Ai glared at it, the offending item, and wacked it with a wooden spoon.

'Honestly, Yusaku won't fall for me, so much as turn round and flee in the other direction,' he muttered crossly.

There was a familiar click as the door unlocked. And Ai sighed and braced himself.

* * *

Yusaku blinked. His kitchen was a warzone, the casualties ranging from his microwave, to the table, all heavily bombed by white flour and eggs yolk. There were even pieces of the eggshells scattered over the floor, multiple bowls and whisks they he couldn't remember ever purchasing lying in piles of half-melted packets of butter. Ai was there, in the centre of it all, his android skin dusted with white and smelling vaguely of heated sugar, some of it even coating his cheek. He had undressed slightly, his cape and his overcoat missing, tossed over the back of a chair, and now his purple sleeves were rolled up to the elbow, hair only partially falling over his face as it strained against the tight elastic band holding it back.

Yusaku blinked, because, huh. Ai in a ponytail. It wasn't a bad look.

'Roboppi isn't around to clean up this place anymore,' he mentioned, and Ai looked up at him, appearing dangerously close to tears, as he slammed his palms down on the table.

'Yusaku!' he wailed. 'Your oven's broken!' He gestured at the large piece of charcoal behind him and after a second take, Yusaku concluded that it was meant to be some form of cake.

Ai looked at him in despair, and despite the mess, despite the waste of money Ai had recklessly engaged in, Yusaku had to fight the twitch in his mouth.

'I don't think that's the machine that's broken here,' he said steadily and Ai threw his hands up in a huff.

'You're so mean! Here I am, like a dutiful housewife, slaving away to practise making the perfect wedding cake, because I know you're too cheap to get a decent one, and you stand there and take cheap shots!'

Okay, tears were definitely budding in those jewel-sharp eyes and Yusaku felt something stir in him at the sight; it was stupid, since they weren't actually comprised of water. But Ai, like the rest of the Ignis had the ability to give data a physical weight in the real world, to give it a solid, hard-light projection. The real question, Yusaku supposed, was whether Ai was doing it consciously.

'Kusanagi knows you're back,' he admitted, taking a step closer, and magically, as though a wand had been waved, those 'tears' stopped falling and Ai straightened, his look snapping into a serious one as he glanced at Yusaku.

'That's fine,' he said after a moment, but Yusaku frowned because he couldn't really read Ai's tone. 'No, really, I like Kusanagi. Even if he did try to use me as slave labour once or twice. Those advertisement sighs were heavy, you know, especially for a tiny thing like me!'

Yusaku blinked. Gazed up at Ai who was now taller than him, and in no way 'tiny'. And decided to change the subject. 'Ai,' he said. 'What's the point of all…this?' he gestured at the mess that had formally been a tidy…well, _tidier_ kitchen. 'You don't want the world to know you exist. And you don't eat. Who were you expecting to eat this cake, aside from me, and maybe Kusanagi?'

Ai frowned, mouth squeezing into a pout. Then he strode round the table, fingers landing, with a sharp jolt, in the centre of Yusaku's chest. 'I love you,' he said, and Yusaku's heart leapt, even though Ai's words came out angry and harsh, uttering the sentiment like a threat. 'And I want to show you how much. That's what weddings are for; a celebration for us, to show how much we mean to each other. Cakes seem to be a part of that!' He gave Yusaku a tired look. 'You're right. We can't show the world, not properly. I wouldn't mind if you invited some people who matter though, like Kusanagi and Takeru and Aoi'- a brief flash of guilt appeared on his face. '…though she might not want to see me again. Not Revolver though. Nu-uh, nope, no way, no how.'

Yusaku frowned and Ai folded his arms tightly.

'He shredded Windy to pieces. I get why, I know he saw Windy as a murderer, but there was no hesitation, none at all. And after all that, the only reason Pandor exists, is because of me. I know you like him, I know you'll forgive him anything, but I can't Yusaku, I just _can't._ I respect him, I understand him. But I don't want him anywhere near me.'

Yusaku didn't say anything. What could he say to that? He couldn't force Ai to get along with Ryoken.

'Either way,' Ai continued, as though he hadn't just dropped a bomb into the room. 'You have people who deserve to know that you're getting hitched to someone not human. Especially since I don't have anybody left to invite.'

His face twisted in grief and the next second his eyes were opening wide, wide in shock, because Yusaku's hands had found the sides of his face and were cradling them, pinching the cheeks slightly.

'Ai,' he said, heart full to bursting, with pain and fear, eyes tracking every inch of that startled expression, wanting to wash the grief out of it completely, and yet feeling charmed slightly, by the way his eyes landed on both the smudge of flour, and the yolk-stained hair. Even the way part of it had run down over SOLtiS skin to land against his thumb, almost like a tear track; it was so messy, so _human._ 'Let's go.'

Ai blinked. 'Go?' he echoed, a rosy flush on his face as Yusaku pulled away, before linking one of his hands with his own to yank him round the table. 'Oooh, Yusaku, you're so forward!'

'You were being too slow,' Yusaku told him roughly, hating the thump of his heart and the way it seemed to echo in his chest; judging by the smug look Ai was shooting him, the sensors in the SOLtiS body could probably pick up his heightened heartbeat. 'Sometimes I have no choice but to treat you like a child, even if that includes leading you by the hand.'

Ai puffed his cheeks out, but he didn't rip his hand away.

Yusaku took a few more steps to the front of his computer. Then turned round. 'Into the Vrains,' he said tightly.

* * *

Ai followed Yusaku's data easily, those familiar streams of consciousness launching itself like a ribbon through the network. He had wondered sometimes, once or twice, what it would be like to intermingle with it, to press the paths of code that compromised of himself against the patterns that were recognisably Yusaku. It would be intimate, yes. But also invasive, and perhaps permanent. And Yusaku had already told him 'no' once months ago.

So…that was that then. But he couldn't help but wonder all the same.

The data launched itself into a sector of the network remotely contained to the Vrains one, but one that felt strangely familiar, and intrigued, Ai followed it out, recompiling himself into his humanoid form and touching down on some grass gently like someone resisting gravity. Then he froze.

Above him, high above, rose silver towers, not nearly as many as there had once been, no, this time a measly five, but they were there, un-ruined. True, the texture was grainy, not as well defined as it could have been, weaker perhaps than even Windy's hasty 'cardboard-cuts' of the Cyberse World he had constructed more than half a year ago, but it was impressive. Impressive considering that there were tweaks of a coding style distinctly familiar to Ai in its make-up. A human one.

Ai didn't need to breathe out. But still, something rolled through him, like the exhaustion that had travelled through his form during his final duel with Yusaku, making him pant. It was impossible, stupid, unexplainable…

There were no floating platforms dedicated to housing the rest of his brethren, no coloured monuments that were linked to each other across the sky. But down here, there were flowers and trees and grass around them, spreading in a small pool around the towers, just as colourful and brash as they had been when they were first designed by the Ignis. A miniature, small-scale paradise. Green, with snatches of brown and pink and purple.

Ai let a small giggle escape him at the colours Yusaku had chosen to let bloom here. Colours that had reminded him of Ai apparently. He bent down, fingers clutching a stem, tugging the flower free, a small pansy with the bright gold centre edging out into a deep, heart-rendering indigo. It was pure art. Really, he was impressed.

'Enough for you to make a bouquet? Seems like the kind of thing you'd want.'

Ai glanced up, Playmaker standing in front of him, arms crossing in that silent and slightly defensive way of his.

Playmaker shrugged, eyes tearing themselves free of Ai's to glance at the landscape around him. 'I'm no Ignis. I can't do what you all did. But you left the pathway to the Cyberse clear after you were gone and I…'

His gaze lingered heavily on five pale stones some distance away, pointing straight up at the sky as though trying to send a signal out there, to the virtual heavens. After a moment he pulled his eyes away from the gravestones Ai had so lovingly built and brought his stare back to his partner's by now, rather wobbly one.

'I felt you, like I said. I kept _feeling_ you out there. And I couldn't let your home stay as it was.'

Playmaker stepped forward, hand cupped as though he were carrying a ring-box. But instead it nursed a small program, streams of white and gold binding the format of it together like the string that kept a parcel intact.

'I'm not old enough to marry you yet. And in the eyes of the law you'll never be able to marry anyone. But here in the Vrains…'

The program bobbed up, hovering above his hand and Ai stared at it, digesting the data in a way no human could.

'You built an account for me!'

Playmaker shrugged. 'I know you could do it yourself. But try and keep it as it is in case someone investigates; it'll lead itself back to me, an actual human and not a SOLtiS.'

Ai fought down his grin. 'Oh-ho…it seems I have an incoming proposal! I've heard of these! A new feature that co-links accounts, grant them 'marriage' privileges…' he tilted his head to one side. 'And they even allow it to be done with accounts that are filed under the same sex as each other. Causes a bit of grumbling, but hey…'

Playmaker didn't smile. 'You can even get a certificate emailed to you. I know you'd like that.'

Ai's smile widened. 'I'll laminate it. Frame it. Send it to anyone who pesters you. Because I bet the mighty Playmaker has already had quite a few thrown his way!'

This time something touched that steely green gaze Ai had been entrapped by for…well. A long time now. Perhaps too long for an AI like him. It sent a pang through him, that he couldn't help but wonder what the other Ignis would have made of it, the lazy rebel becoming so enthralled by a human that he would actually work to keep him safe.

It become even stronger when a smile darted across Playmaker's face. 'I'm only accepting one proposal though.'

Ai clucked his tongue and stomped his foot, irritably bring up the holo-screen that displayed his account profile and pointed at the 'awaiting proposal acceptance message Y/N?' message in his inbox. 'Hey! I have proof here, PROOF over who exactly asked whom! You're crazy over me!'

'You still haven't accepted,' Playmaker noted and throwing him another heated glare, Ai tapped the 'Y' box with a mild grumble.

Instantly a cheesy trumpet fanfare played, a few love-hearts popped up and burst over the holo-screen like bubbles and a wild, multicoloured 'congratulations' flashed over said holo-screen.

Ai stared down at it in disappointment. 'That's it? THAT'S IT!' Then his eye started twitching as a few more messages flooded his inbox.

'Oi, I think I'm about to be cyber-bullied. 'Back-off, nobody's ever heard of you.' And 'who do you think you are, playmaker-sama deserves better'…'he laughed darkly. 'I don't think they'd be so forward if they knew what I was…'

'Ai, give me your hand.'

'Hmm?' Ai glanced up, eyes popping as suddenly Playmaker grasped hold of his hand and brought it up, something very shiny suddenly sliding down over his index finger, away from the careful press of Playmaker's.

'W-w-wha-' he stuttered, staring down at the ring, golden enough to match his eyes, and clear careful proof that Yusaku did in fact keep a keen eye on his handsome avatar, no matter how much he might try to play it cool! And there, in the centre, nursed on top of its circular slide of a curve, was not a jewel, but a glimmering figure of Ai's head cut in the same shape of the ill-fated keychain Windy and Lighting had tried to entrap him with, once upon a time.

'I figured you would prefer this to an actual jewel; it seemed more your style,' Playmaker explained, as Ai looked at him and blubbered like an uncool fool. 'Besides; I'm sure you consider this to be more 'handsome' than a diamond anyway.'

Ai threw himself into Playmaker's chest, ducking down so he could bury himself more firmly into the arms that were now fumbling at his sides in surprise.

'Playmaker! Yusaku! Yusaku!'

'Ai,' came the reply, reverberating from the face above, the face he could feel, no sense inches away from his hair.

Ai nuzzled his face into that chest that always seemed to be waiting for him, no matter how he slipped up, his hands curling, making small fists against the green suit.

'I love you,' he pressed out fiercely. 'I love, love, love you!'

A hand smoothed over his hair.

'Then stay,' Playmaker's voice rumbled above. 'Stay. And don't let yourself get lost in any more simulations.'

* * *

Easier said than done. Yusaku had Ryoken demanding answers, having picked up on Ai's travels in the net, he had Takeru bugging him about his 'married' status on his avatar, and even Kusanagi started teasing him by sending clumsily photo-cropped images of Ai in his Ignis form tucked inside a wedding dress.

The only one who actually dealt with the situation with any aplomb was Aoi, who came up to him at school the next day in her own quiet way and with a similarly quiet smile, offered up her congratulations.

'I'm happy for both of you,' she stressed. 'It always bothered me that none of the Ignis managed to get to live; I'm glad you got to work a miracle for one of them, at least.' Her eyes had glimmered and Yusaku felt his tongue swell up in his mouth, effectively muting him as he wondered what she was thinking about. Aqua? Or her brother that Ai had almost rendered comatose forever? Maybe even both?

But she had just shaken her head, smiled again and told him to 'be happy; for once.'

And Shima, to his surprise, was not inconsolable. 'Playmaker found his soul-mate,' he sighed, his cheeks turning pink as he gazed at his tablet. 'That's great; it encourages me to get out there and find someone too!'

Yusaku had blinked. Surprising, but he'd take it.

To Ryoken he had fired out a terse, 'we'll leave the country if it makes you feel better. I'll spend the rest of my life keeping him out of trouble; you have my word.'

A bit rougher than what he'd prefer. But then again, he'd never had Ai ripped away from him quite so permanently before. And if Ryoken wanted that to happen again…

Yusaku liked Ryoken. He liked him a lot. And he would always be grateful for him. But…but this was Ai's_ existence_ they were talking about here.

'No need for that,' Ryoken had sent back. 'I don't trust him, but I trust you. And if there's one thing I know, he does listen to you.'

Ai sighed, nuzzling into his lap, prompting Yusaku to card a few careful fingers through those unruly curls; they crept over his skin like waves, ruffling and falling back into place in a way that had him marvelling. He never thought he'd have this, this kind of relationship. He thought he'd be too broken for anyone to put up with.

'So is Ryoken-_kun_ going to execute me?' Ai murmured somewhat sleepily. 'Or are you going to force me to emigrate to somewhere his fancy money won't reach?'

Yusaku's hand tightened on a curl in punishment, prompting a loud whine from his partner who was at the moment resembling an overgrown house-cat.

'Maybe,' he said. 'But don't worry; I'll still come with you.' He paused. 'You run any more simulations?'

Ai hummed, rolling his head over to send Yusaku a half-lidded look up from his golden eyes. 'A few,' he admitted. 'They still end in the destruction of humanity, but only after you're dead yet again, and this time I've managed to extend your life into your late thirties.'

Yusaku nodded. 'Progress then.'

Ai scowled. 'It's still not good enough, Yusaku.'

'Keep at it,' Yusaku advised. 'The fact that it's changed at all, and that the time-frame is lengthening before the destruction begins, means there's plenty of variables you've yet to take into account; little by little the future is changing. We'll find it together.'

Ai sighed. 'The future may change, but humanity won't. They'll never accept me.'

Yusaku's lips thinned. 'They don't need to. I promised you happiness, and that's what I'm going to do; with or without humanity's help.'

Ai turned his head to the side with a chuckle, rolling his cheek against the hard slide of Yusaku's thigh.

'…I need to improve this,' he muttered, reaching up with a sly finger to yank on the tassel of his costume still wrapped round Yusaku's neck. 'After all, you're hardly going to allow me to perch a ring on your finger, are you? It would throw too many awkward questions for you at school.' He grinned. 'I can just picture Shima's face now.'

With his grin still firmly in place, he then drew out a chain from his pocket with a small, reed-thin crystal attached, glowing a light, airy purple. Or what looked to be a crystal. On closer inspection, as Yusaku squinted, he registered a thin collection of wires inside, spiking out like the filament inside a light-bulb, barely visible to the human eye.

'New and improved,' Ai told him in a sing-song voice. 'Look at it! Marvel at my ingenuity!' then his grin turned into a smile, dark and private. 'Flash it at anyone nosy enough to ask you out on a date.' He rolled his head back round and fluttered his eyelashes. 'Tell them it's from your clingy girlfriend, one who gets jealous easily, enough to take epic revenge on anyone who messes with you.'

Yusaku gave him a look and plucked the pendant out of his hand. 'I'll tell them it's from my _partner._'

Ai gave him another tired smile. And Yusaku hoped, over the years he would be able to make it brighten.

* * *

Years later, Ai stood under the wisteria trees, purple blooming in front of his face as the flowery fronds wavered before his eyes like a veil, their soft lavender colour brushing over and against the path Yusaku took to meet him.

Over and over again, Ai had pictured this, the band playing, the chairs filled with the people who mattered, Kusanagi, Takeru, Aoi, even Akira and yes, even bewildered Jin and Shima. Years, perhaps a few too many that had been taken. Years involving protests, with some advanced SOLtiS granted quasi-human rights and it was all still here, the city was standing, Yusaku was breathing and here…here at last, he was.

The wisteria parted and Yusaku strode though, the gleam of the wedding cake behind him painting a blur of white snow through the darting petals of pale purple. His partner was looking at him with the slight fondness people sometimes mistook for shyness, looking a little exasperated as he did so.

'A wisteria tree? Really, Ai?'

Ai laughed. 'Well…since I have to share my name with it now…'

Yusaku smiled, and took his hand. 'You ready to make it official?' he asked.

Ai smiled again and in return let a line Yusaku as Playmaker, had said to him so many times over the years: 'let's go.'

And so they did.

* * *

**Notes:** Ending: abrupt like 'whoa.' The difficulty of writting something like this is well, the logistics of Ai's existance and how easily he can endanger everyone because of it. If he wants something more public, he's gonna have to wait and see what shape the world takes when more AI come into existance.

I also kind of hate that it turned so serious at times, because the tumblr post was all about sweetness and sentimental stuff. And I'm attempting to write a second fic that was also prompted by the tumblr post I mentioned at the beginning because I kind of...dislike this one? Who knows, I kind of dislike the second one I'm writing as well, damnit, but what do I do, just never post this one? Either of them? Hope the second turns out funnier?

Or maybe I'll never finish the second one, so...URGH.


End file.
